Red Cloud photo
CaptionCharles Bell (American, 1848–1893)
Red Cloud, 1880
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
Charles Bell was a prominent photographer in Washington, D.C., known for his images of significant individuals of the time. An entire book has been written to interpret the many photographic portraits of Red Cloud, preeminent Oglala Lakota leader. Red Cloud led his people to keep American intruders from their homelands in the Powder River country of Wyoming and the Dakotas. After successfully fighting American intruders, he signed the 1868 Fort Laramie treaty, ultimately leading to the movement of his people to confinement on reservations.